SFR Deal Highlights - May 2025

Hot Institutional Markets, Opendoor Shedding Properties, Ground Up Highlights

Opendoor | Margins Up, Volumes Down

Opendoor is accelerating property sales while slowing acquisitions, with its dispositions-to-acquisitions ratio reaching the highest levels since the 2022 rate hikes began.

Opendoor gave guidance that it would be buying roughly 50% fewer properties in Q2 vs Q1; acquisitions have fallen in line with that plan.

The last six weeks have shown elevated sales volume, with gross margins relatively unchanged and almost 90% of properties sold for a positive gross margin (resale price greater than purchase price).

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Ground-Up Construction | Private Credit Steps In

Competition for fix-and-flip loans has pushed lenders to hunt for new construction opportunities. Private lenders are seeing:

• Larger ticket sizes (often $1M–$4M)

• Experienced sponsors with verifiable track records

• Limited bank participation after the regional-bank pullback

Flatiron Realty Capital recently originated a $2.4M loan on a West Palm Beach teardown purchased for $1.16M. Local zoning allows a footprint roughly twice the size of the existing home.

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Institutional Activity | Sniper-Style, Not Shotgun

Large funds are still buying tepidly, with institutional scattered site SFR purchases totaling in the hundreds per month. Areas of concentration have been high gross yield markets like Memphis, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Birmingham.

Memphis saw dozens of institutional acquisitions in May. The below property was purchased for $193,000 and listed for rent at $1,855 in a solid neighborhood in Memphis.

Many of the homes being purchased are higher than the median home price within the given metro. Funds are focusing on the most attractive neighborhoods within each metro, then seeking affordable options within those areas.

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Portfolio Trades | Small Bites Keep Moving

Smaller portfolio trades continue, primarily in workforce housing.

Tulsa, OK – 25-home SFR package
• Price: $2.57M (≈ $103 k/door)
• Median size: 912 sf | Median vintage: 1965
• Current rents: low $1,000s

Other similar sized portfolio purchases happened in Baltimore, Kansas City, and Toledo. Many are renting out via Section 8 and transactions are happening off-market.

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